Field umbrella



June 1, 1943. BYARs 2,320,848

FIELD UMBRELLA Filed Sept. 29, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 /n ven for:

710/ //e L. W

June 1, 1943. H. L. BYARS 2,320,848

FIELD UMBRELLA Filed Sept. 29, 1941 s sheets-sheet 2 H. L. BYARS FIELD UMBRELLA June 1, 1943.

Filed Sept. 29, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 w. v n p m 0 Z M V/ i "0/. 6 2 am 7 7 m 2 F a Patented June 1, 1943 UETED STATES ATENT FIELD UIVIBRELLA Hollie Lee Byars, Parrish, Ala.

Application September 29, 1941, Serial No. 412,780

2 Claims.

This invention relates to means for protecting field workers from the heat and rays of the sun as they mov about their duties in exposed fields, and more particularly to means adapted to so protect such workers when engaged in duties necessitating prolonged stooping and consequent exposure of the workers back and head to the effect of the sun, and has as an object to provide improved protectiv means susceptible of convenient attachment to the person of a worker for efiicient protection when the wearer is in a stooped position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of a light-weight, portable, field umbrella adapted for removabl attachment to the person of a user. i

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved umbrella or sun shield for field workers which is susceptible of convenient attachment to the person of the user for complete and efiicient protection from sun rays without discomfort to the user or interference with the manual functions essential to th performance of field duties.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved field umbrella as associated with the person of a user in position for practical use. Figure 2 is a cross section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the indicated line 22 of Figure 1, outer portions of the construction being broken away to conserve space. Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the assembly shown in Figure l detached from th person of a user, a portion of the construction being broken away to illustrate otherwise concealed elements. Figure 4 is an end view of the showing of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of a modified or alternative construction of my improvement. Figure 6 is a side elevation of the showing of Figure 5. Figure '7 is a cross section taken on the indicated line 7-? of Figure 6.

In the cultivation and care of certain field crops, such as cotton, sugar beets, and the like, conventional practices require a relatively large amount of hand labor of a character which requires continued stooping of the worker and consequent exposure of th workers back and head to sun rays throughout the working day. Due to the stooped position of th worker, it is diificult to adequately protect the head by means of conventional head wear and practically impossible to protect the back and spine by any means commonly available, hence it is the primary purpose of this invention to provide simple, convenient, and inexpensiv means efiiciently operable to obviate the adverse effects resulting from overexposure of a workers head and spine to intense heat and other ray effects of the sun.

In the construction of the improvement as shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, the sun shield proper is illustrated in the form of a canopy, preferably rectangular in shape, having a length somewhat in excess of the torso and head portion of an average person, and having a width approximately half of its length. Such a canopy may take various specific structural forms, but for reasons of simplicity, economy, and minimum weight preferably comprises a fabric sheet or cover I!) permanently stretched over and secured to a metallic frame designated generally by the numeral II. The frame ll may conveniently be constructed as a rectangular grid of similar, light-weight, metallic bars U-shaped in cross section, such as are normally employed in the manufacture of large-size conventional umbrellas, and the grid may conveniently consist of three identical longitudinal members I2 having lengths equalto that of the finished canopy and bent to conform with the longitudinal curvature desired in the finished canopy, said members 12 being disposed in spaced parallell relation so that one of said members defines the longitudinal median lin of th finished canopy and the other such members longitudinally bisect the half areas of the canopy. Transverse frame members l3, similar in form to the members 12, perpendicularly traverse and are permanently connected, as by means of Welding, brazing, or the like, to corresponding ends of the members I2, said members [3 projecting at each end an equal distance beyond the outer longitudinal members l2 to define the width of the finished canopy. Parallel with and between the members l3, additional frame members M, in this instance two in number, substantially identical with said members l3, are disposed in spaced relation and are permanently fixed to the members l2 so that corresponding ends of the transverse members l3 and I4 align to define outer long margins of the canopy. On the frame thus constructed, the fab ric cover l0, which may be of any suitable material adapted to temper or deflect sun rays, is stretched and permanently secured in any suitable manner, it being convenient to turn end portions of said cover about the transverse frame members I3 and stitch such inturned portions weight rigid struts l5 project in fixed relation radially from the concave side of said canopy at the junction of each transverse rib M with a longitudinal rib l2, there being thus six of said struts l5 in the construction shown. The struts l5 are of uniform length and of identical construction, and free ends of said struts in each row transversely of the canopy are interconnected by and rigidly and permanently secured to a transverse bar l6 thus disposed in spaced parallel relation with the corresponding members l4 and with each other. Each bar [6 supports a pair of mounting brackets l1, each of which is fixed to its bar l6 somewhat inwardly from the more nearly adjacent outer strut IE to positionsaid brackets in uniformly spaced relation from and on opposite sides of the central strut l5, and said brackets are provided with attaching webs IT in the form of enlarged bases having plane surfaces lying in a common plane perpendicular to the struts I5.

The canopy is connected by means of the bases ll of the brackets I! to a harness designed to embrace the body of a worker in a manner to leave the arms, legs, and body muscles free for such activity as may be necessary in the work to be accomplished, such a harness preferably consisting of a pair of identical straps I8, of suitable flexible material, such as webbing, leather, or the like, adapted to extend over the shoulders of a wearer and each engage at its opposite ends with a waist belt 19. The ends of the straps l8 may be stitched, if desired, or otherwise secured to the waist belt 19, or said straps 3 may be formed with terminal loops and adjustable buckles whereby the length of the straps as well as their position relative to the belt 19 may be varied and adjusted. Spaced above the belt l9 and suitably fixed to intermediate portions of the straps l8, a chest belt 2 provided with a conventional adjustable buckle or similar fastening is disposed to engage about the chest of the wearer and further secure the straps l8 in their desired position and against accidental displacement. The bases ll of the brackets ll engage against and are fixedly secured to those portions of the straps l8 which traverse the back of the wearer, one bracket 11 preferably being secured to a strap 18 immediately adjacent the waist belt I8 while the other bracket ll of each longitudinally-aligned pair engages the corresponding strap l3 at the point where said strap crosses the shoulder blade of the wearer, as is clearly shown in Figure 1, the spacing between the transverse bars l4 and the consequent spacing between the bars l6 being such as to facilitate this connection between the bracket ll and straps [8.

The alternative or modified construction of the improvement shown in Figures 5 to '7, is in all essential respects the same as that hereabove described and differs therefrom only in specific detail of construction and arrangement. As shown in the figures last above noted, the canopy is formed of a fabric sheet 2| which is identical in all functional respects with the fabric cover l0 and which is stretched over and marginally secured about a grid-type frame 22 which is formed of a plurality of rectangularly-associated, round, metallic bars permanently interconnected at their points of contact and afiixed at their outer ends to an oval, marginal frame member 23 whereover the margin of the sheet 2| is folded and secured. The frame thus formed is preferably contoured as shown to provide a concavo-convex canopy with the margin thereof lying in a plane from which the body of the canopy curves away, though it should be apparent that the canopy might well be fiat without in any way altering the principle of the invention.

Suitable struts 24 project radially from junctions of the frame members and from the concave side of said frame to extend slightly beyond the marginal plane of the canopy, and exterior ends of said struts 24 are interconnected by means of a curved rod 25 and are braced to the marginal member 23 by means of struts 26 to provide a rigid assembly whereto the supporting harness may attach. Loops 21 are provided adjacent the exterior ends of the struts 24, and the shoulder straps I8 of the harness engage through said loops for attachment of the canopy thereto, any suitable means being employed to secure said shoulder straps to the loops. While the harness shown in the modified construction differs slightly from that above described, the function and operative relation of the harness elements is essentially the same as above set forth.

With either or both of the arrangements shown and described, the canopy assembly is firmly supported in a definite, spaced relation with the back of a wearer to whom the harness has been fitted and secured, said canopy extending longitudinally at one end beyond the head of the wearer and at the other end beyond the wearers hips, so that when the worker stoops to bring his hands adjacent the ground, the canopy fully protects his entire back and head from impingement of sun rays. The length of the struts l5 and 24 is such as to space the canopy away from the wearer a distance sufiicient to permit free use of body and neck muscles and at the same time provide a space through which air lana freely circulate over and about the wearers Since many changes, variations, and modifications in the specific form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of the invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. A field umbrella comprising a grid-like frame having a central longitudinal member, a pair of other longitudinal members coplanar with and in equally-spaced relation on opposite sides of said central member, a pair of spaced, parallel, transverse members fixed to and in perpendicular relation with central portions of said longitudinal members, a cover on said frame to form a canopy adapted to shield and protect the head and back of a wearer when in stooped position, a strut fixedly projecting on the uncovered side of said frame from each junction of said transverse members with said longitudinal members in substantially perpendicular relation with the plane of said frame, a bar rigidly interconnecting the free ends of the struts in each group aligned transversely of the frame, attaching brackets fixed to said bars between said struts, and a mounting harness including a pair of back straps each engaged at longitudinally-spaced points by corresponding brackets associated with the separate groups of struts.

2. In a field umbrella having a grid-like frame including a central longitudinal member, a pair of other longitudinal members coplanar with and in equally-spaced relation on opposite sides of said central member, a pair of spaced, parallel, transverse members fixed to and in perpendicular relation with central portions of said longitudinal members, and a cover on said frame, means for mounting said frame to form a canopy adapted to shield and protect the head and back of a wearer when in stooped position, said means comprising parallel struts projecting in substantially perpendicular relation with the plane of said frame from junctions of said transverse members with said longitudinal members, bars rigidly interconnecting the free ends of the struts in each group thereof aligned transverse- 1y of the frame, brackets carried by portions of said bars intermediate the struts, and a harness including a pair of back straps each engaged at longitudinally-spaced points by corresponding brackets associated with the separate bars.

HOLLIE LEE BYARS. 

